Saturday, January 19, 2013

Family time

I believe Tim Murray when he says his decision not to run for governor in 2014 was a personal one. Does anyone think Murray wanted to subject his young family to the taunts and cracks that would accompany a race for the Corner Office?

Any campaign would be a hard one on his family. And I'm not even talking about what it would be like if he topped what appears to be a weak Democratic field and faced a Republican like Charlie Baker or Scott Brown with far greater positive name recognition.

Murray's withdrawal doesn't really change the dynamic of the race either. Only a handful of Democrats, the most prominent being Treasurer Steve Grossman, has floated a trial balloon and he has not sent shivers of fear down the spines of leaders of either party. Pundits keep throwing out Martha Coakley's name even as she pulls it back.

The great mentioning machine, figuring a Kennedy name always sparks headlines, has tossed Joe Kennedy II into the mix.

At first blush, the Democratic pipeline appears to be dry. And that alone seems certain to bring names out of the woodwork.

Personally, the thought of a Coakley-Brown rematch, this time for the top job on Beacon Hill, sets the political taste buds tingling.